Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Strangers
Strangers by Lisa Jackson. Romantic suspense.
This is a 2-in-1 volume of previously published romantic suspense novels.
- *** Mystery Man.
The first book is about Chelsea Reed, who's looking for her disappeared fiance, Devlin McVey. She doesn't believe he would just leave her, and despite what everyone else tells her, is afraid something happened to him. The search leads her to the Caribbean and Mitch Russell, who she thinks might be Devlin in disguise.
It's a readable story, but I did have trouble believing a beard and different clothes could keep her from recognizing her fiance. A casual friend, sure, but not a fiance. Mystery Man is about what I expected from a backlist story from Lisa Jackson. - ** Obsession.
The second book was more of a disappointment, though I can see why these two were combined in one volume: both are about reuniting old loves.
Kaylie is an actress; Zane Flannery was her bodyguard. They fell in love when he was protecting her and married, but he turned her into a virtual prisoner after a stalker attacked her, and it led to a divorce. Now the stalker is out of prison, and Zane wants back in her life.
Truthfully, I didn't see a lot of difference between Zane, who ends up kidnapping Kaylie "for her own good" and the stalker. I could almost see Zane's point, because Kaylie was too stupid to live, but geez, I seriously disliked both these characters, and I absolutely cannot find the story remotely romantic.
Categories: Books, 2stars, 3stars, RomanticSuspense
Labels: 2 stars, 3 stars, books, RomanticSuspense
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
*** Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Science fiction, action/adventure.
Directed by: Michael Bay.
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Ramon Rodriguez
We watched this at the theater on post last night.
Briefly, it could have used a good editing.
Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is off to college... by which I mean Hollywood's version of college, which has 30-year-old college freshmen, bullying that seems more like a junior high boarding school, non-stop wild parties, and a plethora of incredibly gorgeous young women fighting to throw themselves at the young innocent nerd-boy.
And the parent's are also a Hollywood cliche--mom (Julie White) is sobbing and carrying around Sam's baby shoes (which she's calling "booties" for some reason), while his father (Kevin Dunn) acts like he doesn't care, but we see that deep down he really does.
Sam's girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox) doubts a long-distance relationship will work, but it's kind of hard for her to get any acting in what with all the posing she has to do. Any scene with Mikaela in it has to pause periodically for her to pose, back arched, lips pouting--presumably so they can use the movie stills for a poster... I was going to say for teenage boys, but my teenage boys would be offended.
A shard from the cube (from the last movie--it brings Transformers to life, I think) falls out of Sam's... heck, I don't know what it fell out of or why it hadn't been discovered until now. Anyway, it falls through his floor into the kitchen and turns all the kitchen appliances into Transformers. This would be a really cute sequence, but it goes on way too long, to the point where it became boring. This is a theme throughout the movie, by the way.
Sam's new roommate Leo (Ramon Rodriguez) has a conspiracy website (like The Lone Gunmen, but not as cool), but his enthusiasm for the transforming aliens dims considerably when he gets caught up in a real-life battle.
Hmmm. The Decepticons are back, and they want this key that's hidden in Egypt to revive "The Fallen," so the Autobots, with help from Sam, Leo, Mikaela, and Agent Simmons (John Turturro) have to find it first. And somewhere in there, the Decepticons want to destroy the sun for the energy. Uh, okay.
In the meantime, there's a Smarmy Government Official™ who wants all the Autobots off Earth, and is generally a pain in Major Lennox's (Josh Duhamel) ass.
The directions to find the key are cryptic, as if this is trying to be National Treasure or Angels and Demons. And we go to the Smithsonian, but only one thing comes to life, darn it.
In between all this are interminable battles. And hundreds of explosions. Well, it's Michael Bay, we expected that. The battles went on so long even Carl and Camden got bored with them, and they, being male, have much greater tolerance for such things than I. As Camden said afterward, it'll be a good movie to watch on DVD, with a remote so you can fast-forward.
Making it even more frustrating, I could only understand perhaps one word in three of anything any of the Transformers said. All of their dialogue was accompanied by machinery-noise--so you could tell they were machines, maybe--but it made it like listening to someone with a really thick accent. You have to listen very carefully to understand it.
I didn't like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as well as Transformers. The plot was weaker, and there was less story and more explosions. The special effects were by far the best part of the movie, even better than the first, I think. And there were some genuinely funny parts--how Major Lennox dealt with the SGO, for example, hence the three stars instead of one or two.
But for storytellers of any sort, there's a good lesson here: no matter how exciting a scene may seem, if you draw it out long enough, it's going to get boring.
Categories: Movies, 3stars, ScienceFiction, ActionAdventure
Labels: 3 stars, action, Movies, ScienceFiction
Monday, August 31, 2009
The Bachelor
*** The Bachelor by Carly Phillips. Contemporary romance.
This had been in my TBR pile for a while--I'm not sure why I bought it. I really disliked the only other story I've read by this author, but I'm pretty sure I bought this before reading that story.
The premise was the first problem: the Chandler brothers' mother feigns a weak heart and tells her sons her one desire is to have a grandchild. Roman loses the coin toss, so he has to get married and impregnate his wife a.s.a.p. I've read and enjoyed plenty of matchmaking mamas, but nobody made any sense in this one. Maybe I'm an unusual parent, but I'd rather my kids remained single than marry the first person who'll have them. And I can understand the sons' concern for their mother, but I just couldn't buy their response.
I'd have gotten over that--give me an excuse and I'll happily suspend disbelief--if there had been some real emotion between Roman and Charlotte, his high school sweetheart. There could have been a good story there, and I was looking for it, because reunited lovers is one of my favorite romance plots. But it simply wasn't there.
Instead of real emotion, there were simple jokes. Some of which, granted, were pretty amusing--hence the three stars.
Bottom line, The Bachelor is passable for a quick read if you don't expect much. And sometimes you really don't want much. For me, it would have been just right for a time when I'm tired and stressed out.
Another plus: it illustrates just how difficult it is to write truly good romantic comedy, and makes me appreciate Crusie and SEP that much more.
Categories: Books, 3stars, ContemporaryRomance
Labels: 3 stars, books, ContemporaryRomance
Friday, March 27, 2009
TBR Challenge for July
Yes, this is extremely late. I did read it on time, however.
For the ultimate in lazy summer reading, read a book whose title reminds you of a nursery rhyme, fairy tale, myth, or legend.
Examples from my shelves:
George and the Virgin by Lisa Cach (#18)-- the legend of St. George and the Dragon
Goddess of Love by P. C. Cast -- the myth of Venus
Over the Moon anthology -- from the nursery rhyme Hey Diddle Diddle
I chose:
The Cupid Connection. Paranormal romance.
The Cupid Connection is an omnibus of three previously published novels--as opposed to an anthology of novellas.
To participate in the challenge, let us know what you read; what fairy tale, nursery rhyme, myth, or legend the title made you think of (make one up if you have to!); how you liked it; and how long it had been in your TBR pile, and leave a comment here linking to your post.
Categories: TBRChallenge, Books, 3stars, 4stars, 5stars, ParanormalRomance
For the ultimate in lazy summer reading, read a book whose title reminds you of a nursery rhyme, fairy tale, myth, or legend.
Examples from my shelves:
George and the Virgin by Lisa Cach (#18)-- the legend of St. George and the Dragon
Goddess of Love by P. C. Cast -- the myth of Venus
Over the Moon anthology -- from the nursery rhyme Hey Diddle Diddle
I chose:
The Cupid Connection. Paranormal romance.
The Cupid Connection is an omnibus of three previously published novels--as opposed to an anthology of novellas.
- ***** One More Valentine by Anne Stuart.
Leave it to Anne Stuart to make a romance out of the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre. The seven victims have been coming back to life once a year for 48 hours--the 13th and 14th of February. One by one, they've found someone to love, and when that happens, they escape the 2-days-a-year cycle.
Jamey Rafferty is the last one. This year, he's spending his two days trying to help his recently married buddy. Billy is in trouble: he's under arrest for participating in a robbery with Ricky Dragos, another of the seven. Dragos had seemed to turn around when he married, but his wife died, and now Dragos is back to his old evil ways, and he blames Helen Emerson, an associate district attorney, for her death.
It's an eventful two days, to say the least. And there's so much emotion packed into them.
Jamey is one of Stuart's trademark tortured heroes, and he was utterly realistic as someone from the 1920s who's now in the 90s, but has only experienced the intervening time as two days a year. He knows a lot about the current time, but only the big developments; the smaller details are missing. - **** Be Mine, Valentine by Vicki Lewis Thompson.
Roxie Lowell has been told by St. Valentine (or at least by Charlie Hartman, an eccentric old man she's taken under her wing, who claims to be St. Valentine) that the first man she met on Valentine's Day would be her husband within a year. The problem is (if she believed it, that is) that the first man she met on Valentine's Day isn't her fiance Doug; it's Hank Craddock, a widowed father of two.
Even after Roxie and Hank fall in love, it's not all smooth sailing. Roxie desperately wants a child; Hank absolutely refuses to have another one. And there's a lovesick llama to add comic relief.
The llama was a little too cute for my taste, and I'm not fond of either the desperate-for-a-baby plot or characters who refuse to discuss their problems or consider compromise. But it's a sweet story anyway. - *** Baby on the Doorstep by Cathy Gillen Thacker.
Just from the title, you could probably have guessed that this would be my least favorite novel in the volume. I really dislike baby romances. Ick.
Also as you can tell from the title, a baby is left on Alec Roman's doorstep. So he looks for the baby's mother, and finds her sister, Jade Kincaid.
How much is wrong with this? The scenario is even ickier than usual. Alec Roman is a slut. He's apparently slept with one woman and gotten her pregnant, and now he's all cozy with her sister and the baby that's his son and her nephew. And they don't seem all that concerned about finding the mother, or her motives in dumping her baby on this irresponsible guy's doorstep.
If you can get past all that (obviously, I couldn't), it's a cute, light read.
To participate in the challenge, let us know what you read; what fairy tale, nursery rhyme, myth, or legend the title made you think of (make one up if you have to!); how you liked it; and how long it had been in your TBR pile, and leave a comment here linking to your post.
Categories: TBRChallenge, Books, 3stars, 4stars, 5stars, ParanormalRomance
Labels: 3 stars, 4 stars, 5 stars, books, ParanormalRomance, tbr challenge
Monday, January 26, 2009
Your Planet Or Mine?
*** Your Planet or Mine? by Susan Grant. Contemporary paranormal romance.
I ordered several books by Susan Grant on a recommendation from someone. I can't remember who, though I do remember that it was in response to me mentioning that I liked science fiction romance and that it was rare. This is the first of the books I've read.
Jana Jasper is a member of a political family. When she was a young girl, she couldn't speak. Then she met a glowing boy and rescued him from a tree outside her bedroom window. She thought of him as "Peter" (as in Peter Pan), and when he heals her skinned knee, she's suddenly able to talk.
Years later, Jana has parlayed her "gift of gab" into a political career and is now a senator. "Peter"--whose real name is Cavin, and who she's convinced herself was an imaginary friend--returns with a tale of impending invasion, and a cyborg assassin hot on his heels. It's up to Jana and Cavin to save the earth.
I like "light" books. Given a choice, I'll always pick the funny book over the serious one. Humor generally raises a book in my estimation. But this one just fell flat for me.
Part children's story about believing in yourself and "using your words" (****minor spoiler****Cavin didn't actually restore Jana's speech, and her "gift of gab" was the key to saving the day**** and part cheesy sci fi, with almost an afterthought of romance--or sexual attraction, Your Planet Or Mine? didn't quite deliver on any of those levels.
Mostly, I think, it was just too simplistic. For example, Jana's family had no trouble whatsoever believing that Cavin was an alien and that an invasion was imminent. And the language and customs barriers were far too easily overcome. Then there was what could have been an interesting conflict with the cyborg assassin, but that plot thread was glossed over and shortchanged and instead just became repetitive and dull. Also given short shrift was the plot thread involving Cavin being more or less assigned to marry his Queen.
And the romance just wasn't there. It was one of those stories where love = sexual attraction, no emotional content necessary. Though that's apparently a matter of taste, or belief. I can never buy the love-at-first-sight kind of romances, at least not unless that initial attraction is followed up by some genuine emotion. Finding someone "hot" doesn't do the trick for me.
It's not a terrible story, by any means, but it's definitely a casual read--not something you really need to pay close attention to. My overwhelming impression at the end of the book was that it felt like a kids' book with sex added to make it for grown-ups.
Categories: Books, 3stars, ContemporaryRomance
Labels: 3 stars, books, ContemporaryRomance
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Demon's Delight
Demon's Delight. Contemporary paranormal romance.
- **** "Witch Way" by Maryjanice Davidson.
Rhea Goodman and Chris Mere aren't just from feuding families; they're fated to kill each other because of a curse that's affected their families for generations. Or rather Rhea is fated to kill Chris and die in the process.
Only MJD could pull this off, I swear. The story is laugh-aloud funny, and it's actually a pretty good conflict, if you suspend disbelief. Rhea is convinced she has no choice, and Chris is determined to end the curse, and of course adding falling in love to the mix, not to mention wacky relatives, just makes everything that much more complicated. - ***½ "Street Corners and Halos" by Catherine Spangler.
Rachel is a vampire hooker--which actually makes pretty good sense: she feeds on the men and then leaves them thinking they had sex. But she's depressed and feels terrible about herself. Enter Gabriel, an angel on a mission--to show her her true worth.
It's not a bad story, but it's pretty predictable, and a little sappy. Still, it was an interesting premise. - ****½ "The Demon's Angel" by Emma Holly.
This story is part of Holly's "demon" series about the Yama (called demons by humans, but they're more like aliens) in Victorian England. Khira is a Yama genetic scientist; Harry is the human abducted for her to experiment on.
Since this is Emma Holly, the story is very steamy, and as always, it's not just tacked-on sex scenes: they're integral to the plot. Khira and Harry are definitely star-crossed lovers (which is what this anthology seems to be about, rather than demons, despite the title): of different races, and completely different lives.
- *** "Angel and the Hellraiser" by Vickie Taylor.
Rosemary and Zane are the angel and the hellraiser from the title. Zane is a professional daredevil; Rosemary is an angel who takes human form. She's on a mission to collect his soul.
Rosemary's adjustment to being human is fun, and it's clever the things she's surprised by--not always what you'd expect. But this story is a bit too predictable and sappy for my taste. Similar, in fact, to "Street Corners and Halos," but not as dark.
Categories: Books, 4.5stars, 4stars, 3.5stars, 3stars, ParanormalRomance
Labels: 3 stars, 3.5 stars, 4 stars, 4.5 stars, books, ParanormalRomance
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
A Thousand Splendid Suns
*** A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. General fiction.
This is the second book for our neighborhood book club, and this time I've finished it in plenty of time (our book club will meet next Wednesday). I'd really enjoyed The Kite Runner, but I wouldn't have picked this one up if it hadn't been for the book club. Call me shallow, but I read the paper and listen to the news--I have a good idea of all the terrible things that are going on in the world. I prefer my leisure reading to be less depressing.
And A Thousand Splendid Suns was depressing. When I went to bed last night, I was about halfway through the book. I'd intended to read for a half hour and then turn out the light, but it just kept getting more and more depressing, and sleep was out of the question until I finished it... and even then, I needed a little... er... help... from Carl to wind down enough to sleep.
Mariam is the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy man, and for her first 15 years, she lived a secluded life in a hut with her mother.
Laila is the daughter and youngest child of a former schoolteacher, who lived in the city in relative comfort for her first 14 years.
Both women loved their fathers and had difficult relationships with their mothers. Mariam's mother was a bitter epileptic; Laila's was depressed and focused on her older sons who'd gone off to war. They both ended up married to the same abusive man. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
The first part of the book focuses on Mariam's life until shortly after she's given in marriage to the much-older shoemaker, Rasheed. Then it abruptly changes to Laila's life, and we hear nothing more about Mariam until the third part when the two of them are together. I'm not sure what a better way of handling it would have been, but this disjointed style kept me from really bonding with either of the main characters. Sympathizing, yes; but I wasn't really involved with either of them.
Which may have been just as well, because Mariam's life was just so unremittingly depressing. She did idolize her father, but underneath her excitement was the unmistakable evidence that she was denied everything his legitimate children took for granted, everything except an hour or two of his time every week.
Laila's life was less bleak, at least at first. True, her mother was neglectful and openly preferred her absent sons to her daughter, and she sneered and disparaged her husband, but Laila and her father had each other, and Laila also had her best friend Tariq.
Once Mariam and Laila's lives intersected, things just kept getting worse and worse for both of them, with even the few bright spots provided by the children overshadowed by negative events and the difficulty of caring for them.
Kudos again to Hosseini for providing what felt like--from this outsider's perspective, anyway--a fairly balanced view of the position of women under Afghanistan's various governments from 1964 to the present. It was definitely interesting reading about places I'd previously only heard of from the news. But while the larger issues felt well-balanced, the more personal ones didn't. Rasheed in particular suffered from being a character type. Maybe that was intentional, because we're seeing him from the women's perspective, and maybe that's how they saw him, but I'd have liked to know more about him than that he had a god-complex. Everyone is the hero of his or her own story. I'd have liked to see a little of how Rasheed saw himself--more than as his wives' lord and master. Even the brief descriptions of his previous wife and child aren't all that enlightening.
Then there's the ending. I'm not going to give it away, but the book first gets incredibly bleak, then has a sunny, happy, hopeful ending, that didn't seem to fit the story at all. Not that I wanted an "everyone dies, life sucks" ending, but perhaps a little more of what the entire book needed: balance.
Again, no, I'm not hiding my head in the sand or denying that life is incredibly bleak, sad, depressing, and dangerous for far too many people in the world. I wouldn't find it realistic for Mariam, or even Laila, to start a women's revolution or even succeed in forcing their husband to treat them better. But one thing I tend to expect when I read more serious books is to gain some insight into humanity, and I didn't get any more insight from A Thousand Splendid Suns than I have from any number of dry news reports about the plight of women in Afghanistan. I didn't learn how women would cope emotionally, nor did I learn about the men's motivations in subjugating them.
A-ha. I knew if I kept typing, I'd find my point sooner or later. Neither of the main characters really changed in the course of the book. Oh, Mariam did find some happiness with Laila and the children, but it didn't change her. And Laila, depsite all she went through, didn't change at all--she altered her behavior to deal with changing circumstances, but once circumstances improved, she was the same person she was before. And that would be forgivable if I'd gained some insight from their stories, but I didn't.
Mariam and Laila ended the book as the same people they were when they started it, and so did I.
Categories: Books, 3stars, GeneralFiction
Labels: 3 stars, books, GeneralFiction
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
TBR Challenge for November
The TBR Challenge for November is to read a book with a weather event in its title.
Examples from my shelves:
The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov (#15)
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Ill Wind by Rachel Caine
I chose:
*** Like a Hurricane by Roxanne St.Claire. Contemporary romance.
I'm not really sure why I had this book in my TBR pile. It's fairly recent (2004), so it wasn't one of my flea market finds. Maybe I got the name mixed up with another author's? Seems likely.
Real estate executive Quinn McGrath has been promised a partnership if he closes the deal for Mar Brisas resort. It shouldn't be a problem--the owner, Nick Whitaker, hasn't bothered using the insurance money to repair the damage from a recent hurricane.
You can see where this is going, can't you? "Nick" is Nicole, and she isn't using the insurance money to make repairs because she didn't get any insurance money. Instant chemistry, but Nicole doesn't want to act on it because Quinn is the enemy. Quinn, of course, doesn't think that should be a problem.
And of course, Quinn learns the error of his ambitious ways, solves the mystery of the missing insurance money, and saves the day.
I've read this story dozens of times. Which is not to say it's poorly written. It's not. It's fine. But, in my opinion (which apparently differs drastically from the Amazon reviewers), it's just average.
If I'd never read the identical plot before, maybe I'd have liked this one better. Or if I were more of a fan of straight category romance. I like category romance, but generally need an unusual plot, outstanding characters, a lot of humor, or some suspense to really love it. Again, the characters were fine, but the reluctantly ambitious workaholic and the independent free spirit has been done to death.
And I do admit that the first meet had me putting on my skeptic's hat: Nicole was fixing an elevator while wearing a short skirt, and she got stuck in the access hatch. It's later explained that she was wearing the skirt because she had a meeting with Quinn, but she'd canceled the meeting, so why she decided to climb atop an elevator car to fix it without changing clothes again is beyond me. Then their mutual lust-filled thoughts just made me roll my eyes and skim.
I did enjoy Nicole's billboards made to look like sexy personals ads, and Quinn's consternation when he finds himself the subject of a billboard was a nice complication.
So, not great, not horrible. A quick, romantic read, and, depending on your tolerance levels, fairly steamy.
To play, let us know what you read, how it fits the challenge (if you had to get creative), how you liked it, and how long it's been in your TBR pile.
Categories: TBRChallenge, Books, 3stars, ContemporaryRomance
Examples from my shelves:
The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov (#15)
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Ill Wind by Rachel Caine
I chose:
*** Like a Hurricane by Roxanne St.Claire. Contemporary romance.
I'm not really sure why I had this book in my TBR pile. It's fairly recent (2004), so it wasn't one of my flea market finds. Maybe I got the name mixed up with another author's? Seems likely.
Real estate executive Quinn McGrath has been promised a partnership if he closes the deal for Mar Brisas resort. It shouldn't be a problem--the owner, Nick Whitaker, hasn't bothered using the insurance money to repair the damage from a recent hurricane.
You can see where this is going, can't you? "Nick" is Nicole, and she isn't using the insurance money to make repairs because she didn't get any insurance money. Instant chemistry, but Nicole doesn't want to act on it because Quinn is the enemy. Quinn, of course, doesn't think that should be a problem.
And of course, Quinn learns the error of his ambitious ways, solves the mystery of the missing insurance money, and saves the day.
I've read this story dozens of times. Which is not to say it's poorly written. It's not. It's fine. But, in my opinion (which apparently differs drastically from the Amazon reviewers), it's just average.
If I'd never read the identical plot before, maybe I'd have liked this one better. Or if I were more of a fan of straight category romance. I like category romance, but generally need an unusual plot, outstanding characters, a lot of humor, or some suspense to really love it. Again, the characters were fine, but the reluctantly ambitious workaholic and the independent free spirit has been done to death.
And I do admit that the first meet had me putting on my skeptic's hat: Nicole was fixing an elevator while wearing a short skirt, and she got stuck in the access hatch. It's later explained that she was wearing the skirt because she had a meeting with Quinn, but she'd canceled the meeting, so why she decided to climb atop an elevator car to fix it without changing clothes again is beyond me. Then their mutual lust-filled thoughts just made me roll my eyes and skim.
I did enjoy Nicole's billboards made to look like sexy personals ads, and Quinn's consternation when he finds himself the subject of a billboard was a nice complication.
So, not great, not horrible. A quick, romantic read, and, depending on your tolerance levels, fairly steamy.
To play, let us know what you read, how it fits the challenge (if you had to get creative), how you liked it, and how long it's been in your TBR pile.
Categories: TBRChallenge, Books, 3stars, ContemporaryRomance
Labels: 3 stars, books, ContemporaryRomance, tbr challenge
Friday, October 31, 2008
Friday Flashback
from November 2005:
*** Beautiful. Adult.
Directed by: Michael Raven.
Starring: Randy Spears, Devinn Lane, Stormy, Brad Armstrong, Kaylani Lei
Categories: Flashback, Movies, Adult, 3stars
*** Beautiful. Adult.
Directed by: Michael Raven.
Starring: Randy Spears, Devinn Lane, Stormy, Brad Armstrong, Kaylani Lei
Beautiful is a good couples flick, particularly for those new to the genre. It's a cute take-off on the Snow White story (no seven dwarfs, though!), and has attractive actors and decent production values. For more seasoned viewers, however, there's a lack of variety in the sex scenes, and there's not quite as much humor as I've come to expect from Wicked features.Originally posted on Sugar DVD (you can google it if you like).
Categories: Flashback, Movies, Adult, 3stars
Labels: 3 stars, adult, flashback, Movies
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Reflections
*** Reflections by Nora Roberts. Contemporary romance. Re-read.
Ballerina Lindsay Dunne left the professional dance world to teach ballet in a small town following a car accident that killed her father and left her mother severely injured and needing constant care.
Now her mother is on the mend, and she's nagging Lindsay to return to the ballet, to fulfill her own dreams--Lindsay's mother had had the desire, but not the aptitude to become a prima ballerina.
Then she meets teenage dancer Ruth Bannion, recently moved into the town along with her architect uncle Seth following the death of her parents. Lindsay immediately sees the teen's potential, and begins lobbying Seth to send Ruth to New York, where she'll get the training she needs and deserves. Seth, on the other hand, thinks Ruth needs time to recover from her parents' death.
Seth and Lindsay fall in love despite their difference of opinion.
I enjoyed the peek into the world of dance, and the classic romance between a couple who are on opposite sides of a fence, but Reflections did have its problems.
While I always hate the mothers in stories who push their adult children in the direction they want them to go regardless of their offspring's desires or best interests, I was also frustrated because that plot thread was just dropped--Lindsay's mother did an abrupt about-face and started concentrating on her own life instead.
Then there was Seth's amazingly sexist attitude toward Lindsay's dancing. It was fine for him to travel around the world for his work, but Lindsay going to New York to dance the opening night of a friend's ballet was occasion for an ultimatum: me or the ballet. Yes, he was worried that she'd go back to the ballet permanently, but so what? He traveled, too, and there was no reason why, if she did go back to professional dancing, which she'd repeatedly assured him she wouldn't, he couldn't just join her there. Gah.
I did enjoy Lindsay's relationship with Ruth, and with Davidov, which perhaps means that I'll appreciate the sequel, Dance of Dreams, more. We'll see.
Categories: Books, 3stars, ContemporaryRomance
Labels: 3 stars, books, ContemporaryRomance
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes
*** The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes. Comedy.
Directed by: Robert Butler.
Starring: Kurt Russell, Cesar Romero, Joe Flynn, William Schallert
We got this from Netflix, a bit of nostalgia for me. It's from 1969. Disney used to make a lot of teen movies--quite a few of them with Kurt Russell.
The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes is the first of three movies about Medfield College, all starring Kurt Russell as Dexter Riley, Joe Flynn as Dean Higgins, and Cesar Romero as unscrupulous businessman A. J. Arno. The other two are Now You See Him, Now You Don't and The Strongest Man in the World. Those are in my Netflix queue, too.
Progressive Professor Quigley (William Schallert) is trying to get a computer for the financially strapped Medfield College, but Dean Higgins says they absolutely cannot afford one. So the students, led by Dexter Riley, approach A. J. Arno, who has a computer he's selling for $10,000, to ask him if he'd donate it to the college.
Then a part shorts out, Dexter volunteers to go get the new part and replace it, which he does during a storm. He gets shocked, and suddenly he literally has the brain of a computer. (Really! an X-ray and an ophthalmoscope both show the flashing lights and buttons of the computer. *rolling my eyes just a little*)
Suddenly the student who was on probation is now sought after by everyone, including rival colleges and Arno, who wants to use his deductive power for gambling. Turns out, though, that not only can he think like a computer--his brain also contains the computer's memory banks, with the statistics from Arno's gambling ring, and things get dangerous.
The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes was a cute movie. I enjoyed wacky, conservative Dean Higgins, who always thought the kids were up to something; and kindly progressive Professor Quigley was the perfect balance. The computer stuff was far-fetched even for the 60s (I seriously doubt anyone actually thought being zapped by a computer would put little flashing lights and colorful buttons inside someone's eyes, for example), but then so's the entire plot, so that's fun.
There's a nice little message about fame and recognizing who your true friends are, and some very funny chase scenes, particularly one involving red paint, a dune buggy, and a haystack. And it's an ordinary friend who saves the day in the end, which was nice.
Little caveat about the DVD: the movie was originally filmed for television, but then released in theaters when it turned out better than Disney had expected. So it's full screen, not wide screen. So you're not missing anything with the full screen DVD. (quite a few of the Amazon reviews cited this, so I thought I'd mention it)
Anyway, cute movie--nothing exceptional, but worth getting from Netflix and watching with the family, if only to marvel at the difference 40 years makes in both computers and Kurt Russell.
Categories: Movies, 3stars, Comedy
Labels: 3 stars, comedy, Movies
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Alluring Tales
Alluring Tales. Erotic romance.
- *** "Lover's Locket" by Cathryn Fox.
Caira has always been fascinated by the portrait of Zarek that's been in her family for generations. Then an old gypsy woman gives her the Lover's Locket--if she recites its incantation, her true love will be revealed... and she'll also wake the Keeper of Darkness, and unless she can defeat him, she'll die.
Of course Caira recites the incantation (people in stories always do, no matter what the warnings), Zarek comes to life, and they have a lot of sex. Turns out, Caira is the reincarnation of Zarek's love.
I'm thinking this story could have done with an extra 50 pages or so, because as it is, Caira goes directly from fantasizing about a picture to a marathon sex session to ****spoiler, but only if you've never read any stories before **** being willing to die for him **** with no pauses in between. It's kind of the epitome of good sex = twoo wuv.
I wasn't all that impressed with the sex scene, though it was certainly long. I wanted some more emotion in there, not just detailed slot A/tab B descriptions. It gets boring.
And because I wasn't really invested in the story, the dialogue started getting to me. Things like "Zarek, let me love you as I've longed to do." From a modern woman? And by the time I got to "Wiggle your backside for me, Caira" it gave me a serious case of the giggles. But like I said, it wouldn't have bothered me if I'd been more into the story in the first place. - ****½ "Kili's Ice Man" by Delilah Devlin.
Kili has long had a thing for gladiator "Ice Man" Gunnar Thorsson. So when she has to give a marketing presentation to the gladiator executives and the "Ice Man" is there, she's beyond nervous. So her friend Willa convinces her to do a quick virtual reality vacation before the presentation to calm down.
Unfortunately, Gunnar overheard her conversation with Willa, where she describes him as just what she wants: not too bright, but with a great body. So he bribes the tech to put him in the same VR vacation with her--and if she wants a caveman, he'll give her a caveman.
Except it worked all too well, and he can't even communicate with more than a few grunts.
I absolutely loved this story. I was initially irritated with Kili--I can't at all relate to the idea of preferring pretty and dumb. If he's got a brain, he can be a troll for all I care. (of course, that's coming from the smug position of not having to choose!) But she surprised me. It's the best kind of romance story, where the hero and the heroine are exactly what the other wants and needs, although they don't quite know it yet.
In addition, it had science fiction elements and a healthy dose of humor. Gunnar's frustration with being a caveman was too funny. I'll be looking for more stories by Delilah Devlin. - **** "The Hottest One-Night Stand" by Lisa Renee Jones.
Assistant D. A. Jessica Montgomery is a divorced workaholic. She sees a man in a bar and is instantly attracted to him, but he leaves before she can work up the courage to approach him.
Then her car breaks down, it's stormy, and the only motel in the small town is full. She's intending to spend the night in her car, when the same man comes up to her car and invites her to share his motel room. Where, of course, they have hot sex--it's a romantic erotica anthology, after all.
Up until this point, I was a little dubious about the story. I'm not wild about stories about people doing dumb things and then getting lucky and things working out okay. But then there was an amazing, excellent twist that I'm not going to tell you about, but it was very cool.
And the ending was just perfect--**** general spoiler **** a decision to give a relationship a try. I wouldn't have bought a marriage proposal at this point, or a declaration of forever love. ****
One little quibble that cost this story a half star--I thought the "Latin lover" thing was a wee bit overdone. Particularly since that just consisted of reminding us that he was Hispanic and him calling her "mi hermosa" over and over again. - ***½ "Out of the Shadows" by Myla Jackson.
Vampire-killing cop TJ Evans had a great one-night stand with next-door neighbor Cassidy Jones and thought it was the start of a relationship, but she's been avoiding him ever since. Now a category 5 hurricane is on its way, and he finds out the truth when he tries to make sure Cassidy is evacuating: she's become a vampire.
This could be a classic romance between mortal enemies tale--and we do see a lot of Cassidy's anguished emotions, but TJ goes from "the only good vampire is a dead vampire" to "so you're a vampire--no biggie" in the blink of an eye.
Basically, this is another story that could have used a few more pages. If TJ's emotions had been more fleshed out, if he'd had a harder time accepting that the woman he thought he could fall in love with was a creature he was dedicated to hunting and killing, this would have been an excellent story. - ***** "Tempting Grace" by Sasha White.
Minister's son Lukas Martin has been asking Grace Walters out, but she keeps turning him down. Grace is an ex-stripper who wasn't unlike the troubled teens she works with now. And she's older than he is. If she didn't think so highly of Lukas, she'd probably accept his invitations, but as it is, she doesn't think she's good enough for him.
Then Grace suddenly gives in, on the condition that it's for one night only--she doesn't explain why, but the reader knows it's because she lost one of her kids.
Sasha White was why I bought this anthology, and I wasn't disappointed. The story between Lukas and Grace is rich with emotion and sensuality.
It's mostly Grace's story, as she has the emotional journey of learning that she's more than her past and becoming able to accept love. But Lukas isn't given short shrift, either. He's come to know and love Grace through working with her, and his doubts and frustrations at her repeated refusals are so vivid they brought tears to my eyes.
While reading this, I realized that most times when I've read this sort of plot--a heroine who thinks she's not good enough for the hero--the hero knows she thinks this and basically ends up behaving like a cross between a psychologist and a teacher, doing and saying things for her own good, teaching her to trust herself. Lukas didn't do that. Lukas was more real than that. He reacted the way a real-life hero would, with frustration and persistence. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. It puts the hero and heroine back on an equal footing, even though the heroine has some issues she needs to work through. - *** "A Familiar Kind of Magic" by Sylvia Day.
Familiar Victoria St. John has turned feral after the death of her master, and it's up to Hunter Max Westin to either tame her or kill her.
From what I can surmise, Familiars need a master. They can shapeshift, and they act as foci for their masters' magic.
And of course (see above, re: erotic romance anthology) the taming takes the form of sex.
I had a real love/hate relationship with this story. On the one hand, it was probably the most steamy story of the anthology. The sex scenes were hot and inventive, but they were also extremely sensual with lots of sensory details. There was also a very strong emotional and plot component to the sex scenes, as Familiars are by nature submissives, and Victoria's been fighting that part of her nature. I suspect if I'd been... heh... familiar with Familiars, with this world, I'd have absolutely loved this story.
But I was squicked almost beyond bearing by the childlike way Victoria was portrayed, and the nearly-parental feelings Max seemed to have for her. It's probably an eye-of-the-beholder thing, but every time they weren't having sex and he was tending her like a child, I got squicked all over again, and I just couldn't get over that. - **** "Quick Silver" by Vivi Anna.
Sangria Silver is a freelance conveyer, delivering packages that are probably mostly illegal, given the rates she charges--but she can't be certain, because she has a rule to never look inside a package.
That rule gets accidentally broken when a car accident opens the shiny metal case, revealing sex worker Vance Verona. Sangria had known this assignment was bad news from the beginning--her contact knew far too much about her, and was offering far too much money. And when Vance mentions that it's the First Lady behind it, Sangria realizes she's as good as dead.
I really, really loved the premise for this story, and the near-future setting. But once again, I wished it were longer. So much more about Sangria's job and the future world could have been explored. In fact, I'd love to see this as a movie. It's got such a fun plot that you could even tone the sex scenes down to an R-rating and still have a cool movie.
It also suffers from the problem you find in a lot of romantic suspense books and movies: the bad guys are after them, but the hero and heroine find time to grab some nookie anyway.
Also, the ending was a little abrupt.
Really, though, a very fun story. Futuristic action-adventure. I've just spent way too much time trying to cast the movie in my head--I suck at the casting game, by the way, because I didn't come up with a couple I liked. If you have any ideas, leave them in the comments.
Categories: Books, 5stars, 4.5stars, 4stars, 3.5stars, 3stars, EroticRomance
Labels: 3 stars, 3.5 stars, 4 stars, 4.5 stars, 5 stars, books, EroticRomance
Sunday, October 12, 2008
I'd Kill for That
*** I'd Kill for That, by Gayle Lynds, Rita Mae Brown, Marcia Talley (who also edited), Lisa Gardner, Linda Fairstein, Kay Hooper, Kathy Reichs, Julie Smith, Heather Graham, Jennifer Crusie, Tina Wainscott, Anne Perry, & Katherine Neville. Mystery.
This is another of those serial novels, like Naked Came the Phoenix.
It's a murder mystery set in a gated community that's in an uproar over a proposed condo development nearby. As with any tightly-knit community, it's a hotbed of intrigue: all those different characters, each with their own foibles, secrets, and agendas. And it's up to police captain Diane Robards to sort it all out and discover which secrets are criminal.
If you're looking for a well-crafted murder mystery, this isn't it. Like Naked Came the Phoenix, each of the authors has her own vision of where the story should go, so it changes with each chapter. And some of the authors carefully incorporate previous authors' developments into their chapters while others gleefully disregard any developments that don't gibe with their vision. And there are also a couple of twists that seem designed to make things more complicated for the subsequent authors.
Reading it on that level--noticing the various authors' styles and how each one changed the story--it's fun and entertaining. And I expect it was a heck of a lot of fun to write.
I'm not sorry I read it, and I won't hesitate to read another serial novel, but it's definitely a one-read book for me, and only a keeper to make my Crusie collection complete.
Categories: Books, 3stars, Mystery
Labels: 3 stars, books, mystery
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Step Brothers
*** Step Brothers. Comedy.
Directed by: Adam McKay.
Starring: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Mary Steenburgen, Richard Jenkins
We saw this last night at the theater on post. Camden went with us--it's the first R-rated movie he's seen at a theater. Interesting: the theater requires that you sign in if you're bringing an underage kid to an R-rated movie. I'm often disturbed by people bringing young children to ultra-violent movies (I really don't think any 4-year-old needs to see Rambo), but this seemed like CYA overkill to me.
By the way, Step Brothers was rated R for language and fake testicles, which we knew about because Dagny had seen the movie already. She didn't think Camden should see it, but she tends to think of Camden as younger than we do. (In case you didn't see my TT post last week, Camden's 14.) And Camden had wanted to see this while we were still in the States, but we didn't get a chance to go.
Anyway, you've seen the previews, right? That's what the movie's about. 39-year-old Brennan (Will Ferrell) and 40-year-old Dale (John C. Reilly) both still live at home. The trouble starts when Brennan's mom (Mary Steenburgen) marries Dale's dad (Richard Jenkins) and they all move in together.
Brennan and Dale basically act the way they would if they were 10-year-olds in the same situation. Which is possibly a good reason for allowing your kids to see it--or waiting until they have a network TV version that strips out all the F-bombs and those aforementioned fake testicles.
Most of the big gags are in the previews, but not all of them. Like the parts with Brennan's obnoxious overachieving brother Derek (Adam Scott) and Derek's desperate wife Alice (Kathryn Hahn).
Given the premise and the previews, you have to expect crude humor, and that's mostly what you get. The thing is, I bought it. Take 40-year-old single men with no responsibilities, and they're going to be pretty darn crude. Two things I didn't buy, though: the job interviews (like the one in the preview) just seemed fairly pointless, though I did enjoy the one with Seth Rogan's cameo; and the sleepwalking, which was nonsensical. Yeah, yeah, the whole movie was nonsensical, but given the premise, I could buy most of it. The sleepwalking, I couldn't buy.
So I looked up sleepwalking, and maybe their actions were feasible--or at least not any less feasible than the rest of the movie--but it still somehow didn't seem to fit. I'm not sure why.
I also got irritated at the parents, particularly the mom, for making excuses for them and treating them like children. I had to keep reminding myself that the parents' behavior was what enabled these two to act like children.
Step Brothers seemed to have two messages: 1) don't give up your dreams--and that's a good message, and 2) you can either be a stuffed shirt or an idiotic spoiled child: there's no middle ground--which irritated the heck out of me.
Will Ferrell was at his most annoying in this movie. I tend to like his movies, but he got on my nerves here, and I could see what some people find unlikeable about him. John C. Reilly, on the other hand, was great. Dale was just as childish as Brennan, but Reilly underplayed him, while Ferrell overplayed Brennan. But maybe that contrast was necessary. It might not have worked as well if they'd both had more understated performances.
And it did work. Not spectacularly, and this isn't a movie we'll be getting on DVD (we did buy Talladega Nights, which should give you an idea of the relative merit), but it was an entertaining couple of hours, and at $4.50 for first-run tickets, not a bad deal.
Categories: Movies, 3stars, Comedy
Labels: 3 stars, comedy, Movies
Risky Business
*** Risky Business by Merline Lovelace. Women's fiction.
Sue Ellen Carson has been divorced twice and now enjoys a no-strings friendly affair with Air Force pilot "Crash." She's the Department of Labor's chief of employment and training in Pensacola, meaning that, among other things, she approves--or disapproves--funding for training programs. And she's disapproved the STEP program devised by USAF Chief Master Sergeant Joe Goodwin. Specifically, she's disapproved the "surivival" portion of the program.
But now Joe has pulled some strings and Sue Ellen's boss has ordered her to experience the program for herself, so city girl Sue Ellen is off to the wilderness, mentoring a sullen teenage girl Rose, and fighting her attraction to Joe.
Despite Lovelace's genius for making characters and settings come to life--and she really does that, even in a mediocre story: the characters are absolutely real, and the scenes were all vividly depicted--there is nothing at all new or surprising about this story.
It's a fish-out-of-water story, a rescuing-a-troubled-teen story, and a woman-discovering-she-needs-a-real-man story.
Sue Ellen's discomfort with the great outdoors is occasionally amusing, but it falls short--it's not played up enough to be really funny; she does some things that are just stupid; and some mistakes she makes are criticized far more than they merit.
The story of Rose, the troubled teen Sue Ellen mentors, is likewise less involved than it could be. Everything's pretty much smooth sailing--there's no real suspense or even concern from the reader when the inevitable difficulties arise, because it's all resolved quite easily.
As for the romance part, that's left mostly until the very end, and not given much story time. Joe's a wonderful character, and more could have been done with him. He's in a state of transition: retiring from the Air Force, starting a program for troubled teens--IMO, it would have been a better book if it had been Joe's book rather than Sue Ellen's, because all there was of Sue Ellen's story was learning that she did actually want more than just a friendly, no-strings affair.
Basically, with an extra 50 - 100 pages, changing the focus from Sue Ellen to Joe, and making Rose's problems more emotionally charged, this could have been an excellent story. As it is, I felt I'd read it all before, and found it pretty forgettable.
Categories: Books, 3stars, WomensFiction
Labels: 3 stars, books, WomensFiction
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
*** Forgetting Sarah Marshall
. Romantic comedy.Directed by: Nicholas Stoller.
Starring: Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand
We saw this at the Embassy theater during our month in San Antonio this summer. It was the first movie we saw. We'd actually decided not to see it at AAFES before leaving, because the previews didn't sound that good, but Dagny wanted to see it, and it was still on a couple of shows a day, so we went.
It wasn't as bad as I'd expected. In fact, it wasn't really bad at all.
Sarah Marshall is an actress. Peter writes mood music for movies and TV. Sarah's moving up; Peter is stuck in a rut. What he really wants is to write rock operas.
As you've no doubt seen on the previews, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) breaks up with Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) while he's naked. And hey, kudos to Segel for showing a less-than-Hollywood-perfect body onscreen. We need more of that. If only they'd extend it to women as well.
Peter doesn't take it well. He's taken by surprise, and can't get over it. He's turning into a stalker; his work is suffering; and every date he tries to go on ends in disaster.
Finally, he takes the advice to just get away for a while, and goes to Hawaii--something he and Sarah had talked about doing but never did. When he gets there, Sarah's there too--at the same resort. With her new boyfriend Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), rock star and in-your-face sex god.
So he spends more time obsessing, but he gradually gets distracted by the various resort personnel, and by falling in love with reception clerk Rachel (Mila Kunis). Being Hawaii, their advice is all "don't worry, be happy," and "live one day at a time."
Possibly my favorite part of the movie was Rachel taking pity on Peter when he's humiliated by Sarah and Aldous, and helping him out. For some reason, that just made me grin.
There were quite a lot of funny moments, a lot of which you've seen in the previews.
But there were also a lot of unbelievable parts or one-joke threads that just got old. The premise itself was pretty unbelievable--that Sarah and Peter just happened to end up at the same resort--but you have to accept that, or there's no movie. Aldous Snow's in-your-face sexuality got old pretty quickly, as did the surf instructor's (Paul Rudd) drugged-out persona. The virgin newlyweds (Maria Thayer and Jack McBrayer) were pretty funny at first, but they got old, too.
And I had trouble with the falling-in-love-with-Rachel part, at least as a happily-ever-after. They wanted completely different things out of life, and all I could see between them was lust on his part and sympathy on hers.
Maybe I'm just low on patience, because this movie has great reviews, and I found it pretty average and predictable. Not horrible, certainly, but definitely not great.
Categories: Movies, 3stars, RomanticComedy
Labels: 3 stars, Movies, RomanticComedy
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Kung Fu Panda
*** Kung Fu Panda. Animated comedy.
Directed by: Mark Osborne, John Stevenson.
Starring: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu
I watched this on the plane on the way to the States this summer.
Jack Black is the voice of Po, a panda who works in his father's noodle restaurant while dreaming of being a kung fu master. By a series of misadventures, he ends up in the arena where Master Oogway is choosing the Dragon Warrior from among the five trained by Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), and to everyone's shock, not least his own, Po is the chosen one.
Unfortunately, the Dragon Warrior is the only hope to defeat the evil snow leopard warrior Tai Lung, and Po isn't remotely capable. But despite resistance from the five experts, and even from Master Shifu himself, Po proves himself and I'm sure it's not a spoiler to say he saves the day.
It's a cute movie, but I'm finding it hard to understand all the raves. It's a story we've all seen before--the underdog saving the day--and the "wonderful fight scenes"?? Um--it's animated. Maybe whoever it is who designs what the CG artists produce did a nice job figuring out who should do what and how. I really didn't notice.
The message is a little heavy-handed, which is par for a kids' movie: believe in yourself, and just because you're fat doesn't mean you're not a hero.
It's an all-star cast, but the only ones who made an impression were Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman. All the rest had very small parts. The Furious Five (played by Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, and David Cross) were barely distinguishable from each other--if they hadn't all been different animals, there would have been no difference between them. By which I mean there was no character development for them at all.
Kung Fu Panda also suffers from the usual cute-itis--things added to the movie whether they make sense or not just because it's cute. Like Po's father being a goose. Why a panda would have geese for parents isn't really explained--it's just supposed to be funny, like bulls with udders.
My biggest problem with the movie, though, was the character of Po. I've seen this exact same character a dozen times at least, and it's really getting on my nerves. Not Jack Black--I like Jack Black: Shallow Hal, School of Rock, Nacho Libre, The Holiday... and he does almost always play an underdog, but not like this. I'm not exactly sure why I'm sick of it, but I think it's because the character is self-consciously heartwarming--it's pounded into the audience's head with a sledgehammer.
It is a very nice children's movie. It's just not one that goes beyond that. And that's fine.
Categories: Movies, 3stars, Comedy
Labels: 3 stars, comedy, Movies
